From the Ashes
by TimeOfTheAngels
Summary: Thousands of years ago, this ruined world was reborn into one of magical races. Elven princess Lucy Heartfilia is injured during an attack on her kingdom, only to be rescued by a strange boy named Natsu, who's been looking for her all his life. Will their mission to uplift a falling world succeed? Rating/Genre subject to change. AU. Adaptation of locoanime's "The Phoenix".
1. Prologue

**Hello! I never intended to post this, but here I am! Note: The plot is not my idea. This is an adaptation of locoanime's ****_The Phoenix_****. I have her permission to write this. I would definitely recommend reading the original, since hers is way better and I swear I'm gonna mess something up and have to rewrite a chapter.**

**Oh, and for the prologue, I imagined the characters looking like they did before X791, but the characters are taken from... I guess the year X787 (So Asuka is not as old as she in the X791 arc.) And quite honestly, reading the prologue is completely optional, since it has very little to do with the actual story.**

**Warning: Alternate Universe. The prologue is Tragedy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the plot of this fanfiction. The former belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the latter to locoanime.**

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><p><strong>Last edit: 211/15**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

"Down!" Alzack yelled, just as the shell exploded. The blast lit up the night, blazing against the stars, before fading into billows of smoke.

Sharp-edged pieces of brick rained down on him. He waited a couple seconds before rising back to his post. Then he pulled another round of bullets off his belt and tried to snap it to his gun. He fumbled with it for a moment, before giving up and tugging off his heavy gloves. He wiped the sweat off his hands before clicking the case of ammunition into place. He then replaced the thick leather on his hands.

He lined up his rifle, tossing his head to keep his long strands of jet black hair out of his eyes.

"Bisca, you alright?" he called, eyes fixed ahead. He heard no response.

_Don't look, Alzack. Don't you dare look._

The dark haired man turned his head over his left shoulder. Bisca's section of the wall had completely collapsed. The girl herself was sprawled a little way aways from the wrecked stone. Alzack caught a glimpse of her signature green hair, before snapping his eyes back to his weapon.

He lined the gun up with the man crossing the field, and pulled the trigger. His vision blurred with water as he fired again and again. None of the shots landed on his target, who was running across the field.

"Quit it, you're wasting ammo!" A girl yelled behind him.

He turned around angrily and looked at Laki. Her lavender hair was tied up with a red velvet ribbon, unbefitting to the situation or the girl's personality.

She grabbed the rifle from him and gave him a little push.

"We're changing shifts, remember? Now who're we fighting this time?" she snapped, but her expression was soft and pained. She replaced her spectacles for protective glasses, and mouthed, "I'm sorry."

Alzack looked over at the girl he loved. Bisca had cuts and scrapes running all across her pale skin. Her neck was a an odd angle, and she wasn't moving. Alzack closed his eyes to save his own sanity.

Eyes still closed, he informed Laki that they were fighting the Angel army, then stumbled back to the Safehouse.

The Safehouse was by no means actually _safe_. It was simply more secure than the area outside it. It was a large, underground, bunker-like room, with a few flickering bare bulbs scattered across the hard-packed dirt ceiling. There was a storeroom of rations, and numerous cots around the edges. Some broken armchairs and barstools dotted any empty floor space. Brick pillars lay at regular intervals, each with a frightening number of cracks in them. It was home to the survival guild called Fairy Tail.

Alzack lowered himself into the room, and hopped off the aluminum ladder.

"Welcome back!" Wakaba called, before Nab hissed at him to be quiet.

"Asuka? Where is she?" Alzack asked quietly, eyes searching the dimly lit room. He had to make sure she was alright.

Wakaba pointed to the corner, indicating a little girl on the cot. "Sleeping. Did something happen?"

The westerner didn't respond; he just walked over to his daughter, kneeling down next to her. He rested his calloused hand on her rounded pink cheek and ran his thumb along the length of her eyebrow His breathing was heavy and his throat felt too tight to speak.

Everyone in the room was quiet.

Makao cleared his throat and spoke quietly. "The fighting will go away. Maybe not for a while, but some day. And wherever she's at, she'll see it, with a smile on her face. She'll be able to laugh again and _Romeo you are not sneaking out to fight_!"

His sentiment was ended angrily as Romeo, one foot on the ladder, froze.

There was a time when he would reply to his father just as angrily, but the boy had tried so often that all he could do was wait for the next opportunity.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Alzack heard the older man snap. Romeo replied quietly, and Alzack slowly stood up, carrying himself across the room until he was right next to the ladder.

An argument started to form between Makao and his son, and Alzack could only hope that Asuka wouldn't try to fight when she got older.

"I just want to join the army! We're winning, anyway!" Romeo finally whined.

"That's a lie." Alzack said, his voice barely above a whisper. The other adults in the room looked at him, either surprised or angry, but he wasn't finished. "There's no grand army like your father's been telling you. It's a wasteland up there. We have an alliance with armies and survival guilds all across Fiore, and we have just over a hundred people. The only Fairy Tail members fighting up there are Laki and Max and Droy. And the sad part is, the war is evenly matched. The six armies or Oración Seis are just as depleted as we are. And the two sides will just keep on fighting each other until everyone is dead."

In the dim light, Alzack could see the boy's wide, glistening eyes. He felt a bit ashamed. He knew that his speech was a bit excessive, but he couldn't let the boy think otherwise. It would get him killed.

Kinana pressed a small glass in his hand. It felt cool against his palm, and was filled with amber liquid. "You look like you need this." She whispered gently. She tossed a dry cookie to Romeo, and quietly walked back to the rations cupboard.

Alzack looked at the glass. The drink had little ripples on the surface from his shaking hand. He murmured an apology to Romeo, and sat down on the nearest makeshift bed. After a moment's hesitation, he took a sip of the drink.

Kinana muttered something unintelligible.

"Little louder?" Wakaba prompted.

The violet haired woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other, then back again, as if she couldn't decide. She cleared her throat. "Well, Master, you could use the book." She looked around, silently asking permission to continue. "If it really is as bad as Alzack says, I don't see why not. We're almost out of food, anyway."

Under different circumstances, Alzack might have laughed at the mock-betrayed look on Wakaba's face. "You told the amnesiac girl about a secret book but didn't tell _me?_"

Makao chuckled. "Had to get her to trust me somehow." he took a deep breath, "There's a spell. I'm not exactly sure how to do it, but in a nutshell, it fixes the world."

"You're trying to say magic is real?" Nab asked.

"I guess I am. The spell will basically recreate the world. It'll be pretty damn close to perfect for a while, but it's temporary. Not sure how long it'll last, and I really have no idea what'll happen." Makao explained. "Everyone will have to be above ground, though. Otherwise it'll collapse on us."

"It's a sorta renewal program. A backup." Kinana added helpfully.

It sounded like the ideal solution. Just say a few words and everything gets fixed.

"Good idea." Romeo said, nodding his head in approval.

Makao cracked a small smile. "I'm not doing it unless it's unanimous."

The other people in the room slowly agreed. Nab was a bit skeptical, but hopeful. Jet wanted to end the fighting before something happened to his best friend, who was fighting just outside. Reedus was all for it. An optimistic Wakaba joked around, saying that even if it didn't work, he would get a kick out of seeing Makao try to do a spell. (Much to the Master's chagrin, Wakaba revealed that Makao had once ended up drenched, covered with feathers, and had egg in his hair in an attempt to complete a magic show.)

The members of Fairy Tail turned to look at Alzack. He had finished half his drink, and was in a _slightly _better mood. Maybe it was his peers' hope rubbing off on him. "We'd better get out there before there's nothing to fix."

Everyone cheered, albeit some halfheartedly. Kinana grabbed a dusty tome from the storage, and filed out of the Safehouse.

Alzack carried his daughter up the shaky ladder. The group had to stay low to keep from getting hurt. They carefully crouched behind a charred half-wall. Even so, a bullet cut a shallow line into Jet's shoulder. A gunshot woke up Asuka.

"Papa? Where's Mama? Where are we?" she asked, rubbing her eyes with tiny fists.

"We're outside," Alzack replied, "You've never been out here before." He intentionally ignored her previous question.

Makao flipped the book to the right page. He took a deep breath, then faltered.

"This is the end of an age, isn't it?" Romeo asked, looking around. He was terrified; the world wasn't like he'd thought it was. Alzack knew that Makao's son was younger than Asuka when he'd gone into the Safehouse, and hadn't come out since.

Kinana laughed, a sound lacking the mirth it usually carried. "I can't even remember much of it. What's the point in seeing the turn of an age if you can't remember the old one?"

Asuka laid a tiny hand on the older girl's slender palm. The violet haired woman sighed, and thanked the two-year-old.

"I guess this is it." Even Wakaba was apprehensive.

Fairy Tail prepared for the best and the worst, as Makao began to chant.

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><p><strong>So, what do you think? If it wasn't clear, this is very AU. Fairy Tail is not a magic guild, it's a group of people trying to survive a war.<strong>

**Like? Hate? Please review, and I'll get back to you with the next chapter. ;)**


	2. Chapter I

**Hey! As it turns out, I already made a major mistake in the last chapter. I'll try to work my way around it. Meanwhile, here's another chapter for you!**

**Just like last time, I don't own this. The characters belong to Hiro Mashima, and the plot to locoanime.**

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><p><strong>Last Edit: 38/15**

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><p><em>Thousands of years later...<em>

I opened my eyes.

I didn't have a clue what was going on. I heard yelling, and people were frantically running around. My usually well managed hair was coming out of its tight bun, golden curls falling around my face. I was completely out of breath, and clutching an illustrated mythology book in my left hand.

Had I blacked out again? But I hadn't woken in my bed like I usual.

I looked down at my clothes. Instead of the nightgown I was accustomed to waking in, I was wearing a ankle-length, rose colored frock. There was a tear in the skirt, starting at the knee, and continuing down to the hem of my dress. I was wearing only my left glove, and my feet were barely covered by the thin, pink slippers. My eyes searched around me, trying to figure out what was going on.

The last thing I remembered was sitting on the edge of my bed, reading the myth of the resurrection of the world. I liked the story, where small group of people had cast the very first spell, and everything had become infused with magic. But after that...

I realized that I was in the corridor off the dining hall. It was small and narrow, and only lit by a few lamps. It was hardly ever used.

"Princess, we need to hurry."

I gasped in surprise, looking around to face the Captain of the Royal Guard, who had just sprinted to my side. Lahar was breathing heavily, and looked frantic. It was very different from the stoic man he usually was.

"What's going on?" I asked, "Where's Loke?"

There were guards all around me. An escort? But why?

Lahar took a deep breath, and said, "There isn't much time. We've been ordered to take you out through the escape tunnel." He turned around, and began to walk in the direction of the tunnel. The guards around me moved forward as well, forcing me along.

"Ordered? By whom?" I picked up my skirt, and ran to catch up, "What the hell is going on? Where's my brother?" I demanded, my voice cracking.

The captain glanced over his shoulder at me, making a noise as if he were explaining something very simple to a child. "We're under attack."

"What? The castle?" I cried, still holding the book.

Lahar shook his head, the light flashing off his glasses. "The kingdom. Your brother went out to fight. His last order to me was to get you to safety. Miss Lucy, please."

"No..." I breathed, falling silent.

We kept walking at a fast pace, and I struggled to keep up. My mind was reeling so much it was hard to put one foot in front of the other. Had a war started during my blackout? Or had I just forgotten? I didn't remember most of my life, so it was a plausible scenario. I just couldn't believe that Loke had actually gone out to fight. I was scared to know what would have forced him into battle. Who would attack us, anyway? We were a peaceful kingdom.

That's when it clicked. Monsters.

I clapped a hand over my mouth, suddenly feeling faint. I smelled blood. I saw it on the stone floor.

"Princess!" a guard, I'm not sure which one, put his hand on my shoulder to steady me.

I shook my head lightly. There was no blood. There would be none unless the monsters caught us. It had just been another memory relapse.

We continued on. The passageway descended low, beneath the dungeons. I looked longingly at what I knew to be the oil lamp in the tunnel. We passed it in a second, and the only light was a torch Lahar had grabbed from a small stack.

As the light faded out, I used the wall to keep going in the right direction. I could feel my hearing abilities slowly enhancing, making up for my near loss of sight. The drip-drop of water and the surprisingly light footsteps of the elvish guards grew increasingly louder in my pointed ears. I could hear the tiniest echo off the rough, cobblestone walls. I held the mythology book against my chest, fearing every moment.

An earsplitting noise, like a crack of thunder, reverberated across the walls of the narrow passage.

I shrieked, and the guards looked around wildly. A few even aimed their spears at the empty darkness or the damp ceiling.

I could see the outline of Lahar's face in his torch, the lenses of his spectacles reflecting most of the light. He paused, then murmured an order to continue. But the guards were shaken, and began to stumble in the darkness, unlike their previously coordinated steps. It wasn't long after that when another booming noise shook the corridor. Another followed, then another.

"Is that from outside the palace?" Lahar asked Richard.

"No." the burly, redheaded guard responded bluntly.

The captain cursed softly, and began walking again, increasing his pace. "We have to hurry."

The loud, drumming noises continued, becoming more and more frequent. I held my hands over my ears to relieve them from the pounding. As we jogged, the banging became more distinct; I heard clanging, like a stone against metal. It seemed like the faster we ran, the louder and clearer the noise became, to the point where it began to be painful.

With my eyes watering, I stopped to catch my breath. How far were we? From how fast we'd been going, I could tell that we were almost to the halfway-point of the escape route.

The banging stopped for a moment. We waited in apprehensive silence. A scraping, tearing noise reached my ears and I cried out, falling down to my knees. The new sound continued, earsplittingly shrill, then ceased.

"Captain!" Macbeth called in an agitated voice. "Sir!"

"What is it?" Lahar snapped.

"That sound - and the the sounds we've been hearing - d-do you understand?" the guard asked cautiously.

Lahar shook his head, a motion barely visible in the torchlight. "No, I don't. Explain."

"Well," Macbeth swallowed, "It was booming was probably a battering ram, trying to get into the passage. Then the other sound was them actually getting through the metal and coming into this passageway."

"What about it?"

"Sir, the door is made of wood."

I thought about that for a moment. I vaguely remember Macbeth swinging the door shut and locking it. The monsters couldn't have been pursuing us through the escape route, because we would have heard the wood crack. My mind wandered to the wrought iron gate at the end of the passage. Our destination.

"They're at the end of the tunnel!" I screamed, "We're running towards them!"

Lahar's mouth dropped open. "Turn around! Run! The other way!"

I began to hear it. Snarling, cackling, and footfalls coming closer. The guards yelled, turning around and bolting back up the corridor. I tossed my book at the floor, and followed them, running as fast as I could.

It didn't take long for the monsters to catch up with us. The soldiers created a barrier between me and the creatures. When Lahar gave the order, they unsheathed their weapons and brought up magic circles.

The passage was too narrow, and it was too dark to see how many there were. Of few of the monsters looked directly at me. My eyes couldn't catch sight the pitch black pupils and sclera, but I knew how they looked. The luminescent red irises were all I could see, rings of blood that terrified me.

"Run, Lucy!" Lahar yelled, just as the monsters attacked.

I ran. I ran as fast as I could, up the passage, back to the castle we'd escaped from. I tripped once, falling to the wet, stone floor. I got up, picked up my skirt, and kept sprinting. The light from the oil lamps made my eyes sting, but I raced until I crashed into the door to the tunnel, which was made of light oak.

I desperately pounded against it. I began to cry. I could still hear the fighting from the corridor, and someone screamed.

Taking a few deep breaths, I checked the skirt of my dress. In my hair, around my wrist, among my magic keys, and in my shoe. I always kept one on me, and I finally, victoriously pulled the skeleton key from a chain on my neck. I shoved it into the keyhole, and twisted. It stuck at first, and I shook it inside the lock. Those damn keys never work properly.

"Come on, please, come on." I muttered nervously, and the lock finally clicked.

I threw my weight against the door, and it swung open. I left the key where it was in the lock, and raced down the larger corridor. I knew the halls of the palace well, and I ran to get as far away as possible from the creatures beneath the dungeon.

So, my instinct led me up.

I climbed step after step, making myself dizzy in the spiral stairwells. I was running solely on the adrenaline racing through my veins.

I could hear a monster following me. How had he gotten past the guards? How many monsters had survived? I didn't want to think about it.

_Run._

I stopped when I reached the top of the Astronomy Tower. Open windows stretched from floor to ceiling. Most of the walls of the circular room were emptied out, perfect for stargazing. But to me, their only purpose was displaying the terrifying drop that was _exactly why I never came up here_.

"Dammit, Lucy! You idiot!" I moaned to myself.

I pushed the double doors shut, shoving a telescope through the handles. Even so, seconds later, the monster burst through.

He looked just like all the others that I remembered. A slim, human-like body, with gaunt, chalk white skin against patches of black scales, like it had been splattered with tar. Obsidian bat wings sprouted from between the monster's shoulders, curving inward and flaring out. His mouth looked coated in coal dust, and his eyes were a terrifying mix of onyx and blood.

The monster's irises flashed, and I backed up against one of the narrow strips of wall. He raised his hand, showing off an small, ornamental dagger. I recognized the prized weapon that had belonged to Lahar, the one he had always kept on a rope at his waist.

I wiped my sweating palms on the thin fabric of my skirt. I twisted my head around to look outside, where my parents' kingdom was falling. Houses and trees were ablaze, and blood splattered the cobblestone pavement. I could hear screaming and the clash of weapons.

"Go on. Join your people." the monster rasped maliciously.

I slowly turned my head back to him, my eyes shining with new tears. He had the knife raised over his shoulder, ready to throw. But he had stopped, and a sneer curled onto his lips.

I looked out the window again, swallowing painfully. It was a long drop. But I was going to die, I would prefer to fall, rather than giving the monster the satisfaction of killing me.

I didn't hope to escape. I had seen what those monsters could do, and despite their usual scrawny frame, they were unbelievably strong. A hundred of them had pushed past most of our army, slain our soldiers, and assassinated the king and queen. Only one hundred of them, against nearly a thousand.

I stepped up onto the stone windowsill, which wasn't much higher than the floor. My heart sped up, as I stood with one foot in front of the other, balancing sideways on the edge. In my peripheral vision, I could see the monster on one side, the faraway ground on the other.

"Jump already!" he snarled, his arm tensing.

I didn't want to see the fall. I smelled blood again, and I couldn't tell if it was real or just my imagination. I started to turn away, facing into the room. Even so, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the grass below, as fire slowly spread across it.

"Time's up."

I snapped my head around to look at the monster, right as I felt an impact in my stomach. My eyes traveled to my midsection. The handle of the tiny dagger was sticking out of me.

I couldn't think straight. I slowly eased the blade out of my stomach, eyes widening at the bloodstained silver. It dropped from my shaking fist, and I lightly rested my hand on my abdomen. Had that really just happened?

The pain hit me suddenly, ripping through my whole body like lightning. I screamed, and crumpled, falling off the windowsill. The agony only faded as my vision went black.

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><p><strong>That's chapter two. Like? Hate? Please review, and be sure to check out locoanime's <em>The Phoenix<em>.**


	3. Chapter II

**Hey guys! I'm here with the next chapter! I had a bit of trouble with this one, and I had to shift some things around.**

**Oh! I think I should mention, I have a habit of slowly editing each chapter and updating them, usually to make them longer via more description. No really important changes, though.**

**In this chapter I tried to emphasize the fact that the characters are _not_ actually human. I don't think I'd made that clear enough in the first chapter. Or in this one, honestly. I keep trying to work this in, but it never seems like a fit moment. Even so, it's pretty important. The characters, as magical creatures and such, have _very much _lengthened lifespans. So, Lucy is around 224 years old. I have a ratio that I use to calculate the ages.**

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><p><strong>Last edit: 35/15**

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><p>I was fully expecting to be dead. So it was a complete shock to me when my consciousness began to slowly return.<p>

For a while, I couldn't think straight. Everything was hazy and blank, and I couldn't remember much. My limbs felt heavy, along with my eyelids.

Routinely, I forced myself to wake up, like one reluctantly does in the early morning. I clenched my hands into tight fists around the sheet over me, and forced my eyes to stay open.

The light was dim, cast only by a few torches around the edges of a vaguely circular room. The wall around the torches was rough and broken and rocky, leading me to believe I was in some sort of cave. My theory was soon strengthened when I became aware of the eerily still, damp air. I was lying on my side on a stiff mattress against the wall, with a thin sheet thrown over me. My arms were over the cover, palms facing down.

As I resurfaced from sleep, the pain in my stomach grew, to a point where it became hard to bear. I repeatedly clenched and relaxed my hands in the sheet.

"So, you actually _are_ alive." I heard a voice say, his tone amused and slightly surprised, "You had me worried for a bit."

Slowly and laboriously, I turned my foggy feeling head to look at the speaker.

The figure was in front of the nearest torch, blocking it and making the light splay out around him. It left him as a black outline against the faint glow. The hood of his black cloak prevented me from seeing his face. Obviously male, from his voice. He was reasonably tall and well built. There wasn't enough light to tell who or even _what_ he was.

He reached out, gently placing his hand around my wrist. I couldn't help but notice the abnormal warmth of his grip, or the way his fingers tapped gently along my forearm. A strange sense of security washed over me.

"You're still pretty weak. I'll get Wendy in a bit." he said softly, "Think you can manage?"

I nodded tentatively. I didn't know this man, but he seemed to be... kind.

"Can you sit up?" he questioned.

I quietly responded that I wasn't sure, feeling my cheeks flush brightly from embarrassment.

The man only chuckled softly, succeeding in making me blush even more fiercely. He more or less ordered me to swing my legs off the bed, then he slipped his hand under my arm, making the sheet wrap tightly around me. He put his other hand on my shoulder.

I tried to make it a bit easier for him as he hauled me up into a sitting position. The action made an acute pain flare up in my abdomen, and I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

The man kept his hand on my shoulder the cover still draped around me.

"I tried to cauterize it, but it only half-worked." he sighed, before looking back up at me. "You hanging in there?"

His eyes suddenly met mine, flashing in the darkness. I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed the blazing red irises.

There was no way! Those monsters couldn't speak in his voice; they couldn't talk in the soft way he had. The man had handled me gently, not like the beasts that had attacked me. He couldn't be one of the demons that were first created to be assassins, the monsters that had killed the king and queen. His eyes gleamed, rings of fire that trapped an empty blackness, the eyes that had only ever existed on the face of a demon.

I opened my mouth and took in a deep breath, getting ready to scream, only to feel a rough hand pressing against my lips.

I stared at the figure in front of me, wide-eyed, but he hadn't moved. His hands were still clasping the side of my chest and my arm. The fingers binding my mouth shut slowly receded, nails dragging against my bottom lip.

"What the hell was that, Cobra?" the person in front of me whispered, his eyes turning away from me to look at someone.

I twisted my own head to look at a man behind the headboard. The flickering light of the torches gave me a better view of his face. He had dark hair the color of mahogany wood, and the orange light made his skin looked more swarthy than I assumed it actually was. It struck me that this new person's eyes weren't the glowing red of the other creature in front of me.

He gave a small laugh, smirking, "What? She was about to scream. You wouldn't have wanted that, now would you?" he laughed again, "Just go get Wendy."

The cloaked figure cursed under his breath, and quickly drew his hands from me, before racing out of my sight.

His absence filled the cavern with a strange silence. I was frightened, and I hurt. I took a second look at the new person, who was lounging on the simple, wooden headboard. He had a mass of spikes of burgundy hair, and sideburns framing his face. A lingering smirk played across thin lips, even as he turned his head to look at me. I noticed with a start that a long scar closed over his right eye.

He laughed, and I frowned lightly.

"What's so funny?" I spluttered, drawing my arms closer to my body.

He looked me up and down, and I squirmed. I felt like he was scanning me.

"Nothing." he replied shortly.

After a moment's pause, I asked, "How did you know I was going to scream?"

"I just could tell, is all." The man raised his eyebrows, and turned away, as if trying to be the worst liar as possible.

He snickered again, obviously finding my confusion amusing. As a princess, I couldn't stand him looking down on me like that, but I could only glare at him. I momentarily wondered if he was psychotic. It seemed like a practical conclusion, what with his spontaneous spouts of laughter.

Awkwardly, I planted my hands beside me on the mattress, and leaned back. I winced, trying to put as much of my weight as possible on my arms.

The man finally stopped laughing with an exaggerated sigh, saying, "Here she comes."

Just a second later, I saw a small girl stumble into the room. She looked around wildly as she hurried in, carrying various tools and rolls of cloth. She yelped suddenly, and I cringed as I saw her vanish from sight, accompanied by a loud thud.

She jumped up, hastily declaring, "I'm alright!"

The girl smiled brightly, shifted her arms and said, "Sorry 'bout that, I'm-" she broke off, dropping her supplies next to me on the bed. This time, she held out her right hand and stated, "I'm Wendy."

I shifted onto my left arm, holding out my right for her to shake.

The man cleared his throat. "Why isn't Natsu with you?"

The girl, Wendy, snapped her head to look at him, replying, "He went back out to look for _her_."

Wendy brushed a strand of long, straight hair behind her ear, then put her hands on her hips. She looked at the man impatiently. She didn't say a word, but the man threw up his arms in mock surrender.

"Fine, fine." he said vexedly, standing straighter and walking toward the exit. "I'll go. Besides, Laxus just got back. I'll get his report."

He left the room, arms crossed against his broad chest.

I hadn't understood most of the conversation that had just transpired. I was glad that I was alone with the little girl, who appeared just about as harmless as possible. I knew it was a bad idea to jump to conclusions based on appearance, but I couldn't imaging the child actually hurting me.

Wendy twisted around to face me, her face easing back into the smile she'd shown me earlier.

"Don't mind him. Cobra's just like that, and I can't really fix him. Believe me, I've tried." Wendy admitted, giggling. I couldn't help but wonder if his name was _actually_ Cobra. I seriously doubted it.

I stuttered a bit, not knowing how to respond. "Um, okay?"

Her laughter died away, and a silence ensued. It was nearly as embarrassing and awkward as before Wendy had come in; the quietness filling the gaps between Cobra's spurts of laughter. I liked the girl, but I didn't know if I could trust her. I didn't know her. I didn't have a clue where I was, or what was going on. The feeling wasn't unfamiliar to me, and sparked a strange sense of déjà vu.

"Natsu said that you were hurt. I'm a healer. May I...?" Wendy said quietly, trailing off at the end.

I nodded my head slowly, "Right. Of course."

The bed sheet was still wrapped around me, albeit greatly loosened. I cautiously slipped it off my shoulders, causing it to pool around my waist. For the first time, I noticed that a good portion of my dress around my stomach had been burned away. Strips of black fabric circled my waist, covering the small stab wound. When I was once again conscious of the injury underneath, the existence of the pain returned to mind. I grimaced, closing my eyes and willing it to fade.

Wendy bent down and lightly touched binding, wrinkling her nose in a frown. "He really is bad at bandaging cuts." she muttered. "Especially a stab wound like this."

She looped around me, back to the supplies she'd carelessly dropped onto the bed. She grabbed a ribbon, and began tying up her hair.

"I mean, he's not completely worthless at it, but it's not tight enough, and the cloth he used was from the hem of his cloak, which is right above the ground." she observed.

Wendy started to organize the few instruments she had brought with her, before looking directly at me again. "There's dried blood on the bandages. I'm gonna have to try to pry it off somehow."

Using a small canteen, she dribbled water over the fabric, before confessing morosely that she wasn't sure if wetting the bandages would help get them off or not. As she attempted to peel away the strips of cloth, I tried to keep as still as possible. Even so, I flinched relentlessly from pain as the last layer of fabric was tugged away, plucking at the soft skin it had been clinging to.

"Sorry! Sorry." Wendy called to me, before focusing once again on my cut. "Looks like he tried to cauterize it. He didn't do a very good job of it."

She lightly touched the raw skin of the laceration, and I had to actually bite my tongue to keep from crying out.

"Even so," the girl continued, "he probably saved your life. You might've bled out otherwise. Plus," her expression visibly brightened, "he brought you here so I could fix you up!"

She used the last of the water to dampen a small rag, which she used to dab off any remaining blood from my abdomen. It stung when it touched too close to the wound, making me jump away from her multiple times. Each time I cringed, Wendy would start apologizing profusely.

I'm pretty sure we were both glad when it was over, because a smile returned to Wendy's lips when she set the cloth down next to me.

"Now that that's out of the way," she said cheerfully, "this part'll be much easier."

I watched the little girl curiously as she held her palms together in front of her chest. She murmured a quiet chant, like an incantation, and something began to glow between her hands. She laid her fingers gingerly against my stomach, whispering a few more quick words. A pleasantly warm sensation spread out from her fingertips, wrapping around the wound.

When the feeling faded, I gazed wondrously at Wendy, who had pulled her hands back to her chest. I hadn't known that healing magic even existed. I lightly pressed my hand against my middle, and ran my thumb over the tiniest of raised scars. The spot still ached slightly, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been before. The stab wound had completely healed over.

Wendy was blinking rapidly, swaying slightly.

"Wendy, are you alright?" I asked anxiously.

"I'm fine." she said, taking a seat on the mattress next to me. "It takes a bit of energy to cast spells like that. I tried to minimize the amount of scarring."

I smiled at the little girl, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Well, thank you. I feel a lot better now."

She beamed. After a few moments, she said, "I'm sure you want to wash up. And change into something else."

She cheerfully jumped off the bed, holding a hand out to me. I took it, and she led me out of the room.

As it turned out, the cave was a complex maze of narrow passages and spacious openings. Some of the rooms were filled with books, food, supplies, tools, clothes, or even weapons. Wendy led me through it all.

"Here we are!" she exclaimed, pulling me into another small, rocky-walled room. It was warm and humid, and the dense air smelled of dried herbs. There was a relaxing atmosphere that pulled me in. Beside me, I heard Wendy sigh contentedly. "The bath's in that room." she pointed to a door, "And I'll have a change of clothes when you're done."

The small girl cheerfully began to stride to the exit. With the door half-open, she paused, turning her head to look back at me.

"I just realized. I never got your name." she said softly.

I frowned lightly, and realized that she was right. I hadn't told her. Suddenly feeling very rude, I hastened to tell her.

"Lucy. I'm Lucy."

I tried to smile brightly at her, but faltered when I saw her eyes become rounder than dinner plates. She jumped past the doorframe, quickly slamming the door behind her. I heard a sharp yelp as her long hair (which I had now determined to be a dark blue color) was clamped by the door. A second passed, and the door was cracked open so her indigo locks could slip out.

I stood there, bewildered, wondering what had just happened. _Again_. I couldn't understand Wendy's peculiar reaction to my name.

The door swung open again, and Wendy rushed in, holding a stack of clothing. She set it down next to her. "Sorry about that. I just... Don't hear that name often." she said quietly, before looking back up at my face.

She walked past me, and opened the door she had indicated to me earlier.

I hesitated, completely baffled, before shuffling to the large, wooden door that Wendy had just gone through. Without too much thought, I followed her.

The room I entered was even more humid than the one I'd left, which I should have expected. The floor was smoother and harder, slippery with droplets of water. There was a claw-footed tub against the wall to my right. Not far away from it, there was a tap in the wall. A large kettle was held over a few glowing coals.

Wendy walked over to the pot, which was filled with water. She wrapped her arms around it, and pulled it off the hook.

"Need any help with that?" I asked hesitantly.

"No, I've got it."

She dumped the heated water into the tub. It splashed around, before settling. While the surface of the water calmed, I removed the few pins that had surprisingly stayed in my hair throughout this entire ordeal. Although, at least half of them had been dislodged, leaving the hair spilling out unevenly. I shook my head to loosen the final golden curls from their place behind my head, and they fell gently across my shoulders. I picked up a strand of hair, and realized with a sigh that the tight coils were unraveling back into my straight locks.

Wendy dropped the kettle, and a loud _bang _reverberated off the walls. We both winced at the sound, and Wendy quickly apologized.

She wiped her wet hands on her skirt, and opened what I guessed was a small closet. She pulled out a rough bar of soap and a dark blue towel, and gave them to me.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something. I'll come back to check once I remember." Wendy said, making her way to the door, "You go ahead and wash up."

She gave a quick smile, then left.

I stood still for a moment, then dropped the towel and soap she'd given to me on the floor, next to the bathtub. I struggled to undo the buttons on the back of my dress, but eventually freed enough of them to slip the garment off my shoulders. I finished undressing slowly, then stepped into the warm water.

I scrubbed myself with the hard soap, my skin turning red from the friction. I dunked my head underwater, and rinsed my hair and face. I thought about all the questions I had. How had I survived the fall from the tower? Who were the strange people around me, and where was I? I decided that, after I got out, I would get some answers. I needed to know.

By the time I got out of the water, it had started to feel chilly against my skin. I nearly tripped over the side of the bathtub, and snatched up the towel. I quickly wrung out my hair over the water, and wrapped the towel around my chest.

When I went back into the connecting room from before, the air felt a lot colder. I rushed over to the stack of clothes Wendy had left.

The dress was made of nice, thick fabric, with a heavy skirt that reached just past my knees. It was royal blue with gold trimmings and, surprisingly, fit me nicely. It was shorter and much more revealing than what I was used to wearing, with a dipping neckline, but I liked the new attire. Thankfully, Wendy had included undergarments with the outfit, along with gloves and hair ribbons. I split my hair into two dripping halves, and tied them beneath my ears. I left the gloves on the floor.

I jumped when there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Lucy, can I come in?" I head Wendy's voice asked, and I opened the door for her.

I smiled at the little girl. "Just Lucy."

"I remembered what I left out. Shoes. So, um, here." she said holding out a pair of sandals.

I took them, and sat down to put them on. The shoes were nice, and had thin strips of leather that wrapped their way up my legs. I took my time strapping them on. Finally, I finished tying complicated the lacings, then stood back up.

"Can I take you to meet the others?" Wendy asked, holding out her hand to me.

I agreed, and Wendy brightened. She led me back up through twisted corridors and stairwells, and I was amazed at how she could remember any of it.

"Hey, Wendy? How come you have clothes my size?" I inquired suddenly.

"We don't go shopping much." she replied, still tugging me along, "Whenever we actually get to go into town, I just grab whatever looks pretty." she laughed loudly.

I chucked with her, and asked, "Are we almost there?"

"Yep!"

A second later, the passageway we were running through opened up into another room, this one with no door or similar entryway. The cavern was much larger than the rooms before it, and nearly empty. Sticks littered the far side of the room, which sported a passageway that sloped steeply upwards. A soft light came from that exit, which meant it might lead outside.

There were people in the room. Three men, all of which turned to look at me and Wendy, and I suddenly felt very shy. One of them I recognized as the one-eyed man I'd seen before.

Wendy sensed my discomfort, and cleared her throat. "This is Gajeel, Laxus, and Cobra." she said, pointing to each individual in turn.

Each of them were well built, eyeing me curiously. I shifted, not sure what to say or do.

The man from before, Cobra, began to snicker. Once again, I wondered why he was laughing. The blonde man lightly swatted him across the back of his head, and Wendy closer to me, whispering, "He can hear thoughts."

My eyes widened in surprise, staring back at Cobra. As strange and terrifying as that was, what intrigued me the most was her phrasing. I wondered why she hadn't just said 'He can read minds'. That was something I might need to figure out.

Wendy rocked from he heels to her toes, coughing once as she did so.

"So, this is-"

I noticed Cobra raise his eyebrows a fraction of an inch, but my attention was quickly drawn to what had interrupted the blue haired girl. Two figures, both male, walked in from the opposite side of the room. They were both leaner and slightly smaller than the other figures in the room, but I found their appearances no less intimidating, though the twinge of fright I felt towards them might have been caused by my frayed nerves. I was just too confused, and right at my breaking point.

"You're back! Just in time!" Wendy called to the boys, who I could only describe as 'black and white'. For the time being, I wasn't sure why I got that impression, other than the contrasting shades of hair. A quick movement flashed behind both figures, and for a moment I could have sworn they'd had some sort of wings.

The new arrival with black hair nodded curtly in response to Wendy, while the blonde smirked and asked, "What for? Should I get all excited for this?"

Wendy frowned slightly at the blonde man's reaction, but cleared her throat again and said told me, "This is Sting," she pointed at the smug looking blonde man, "and that's Rogue." she indicated the other.

I inclined my head slightly, and Rogue mirrored my movement. Sting just rolled his eyes.

Wendy took a deep breath, but made no other move to speak. She breathed out, catching her bottom lip between her teeth nervously. I didn't know if I should introduce myself or not, since she didn't look like she was about to. I waited for someone else to say it.

"Well?" Sting said, staring at me expectantly, "What's your name, Elf?"

"L-Lucy." I stammered, before regaining some level of composure. "My name is Lucy."

Sting seemed to do a double take, while his partner's lips parted ever so slightly in surprise. The other men in the cavern also reacted strangely, stiffening and scrutinizing me as if I was under inspection. Well, with the exception of Cobra.

Wendy bowed her head, nudging a birch twig with her toe. "Yeah. That."

Rogue muttered something into Sting's ear, which, in the near silence, could be heard relatively clearly. "It might not actually be _her_. Natsu would have told us."

Cobra cackled almost gleefully, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. He cocked his head to the side, calling, "He didn't know her name." he paused briefly, waiting for someone to contradict him.

When no one did, he directed his lopsided gaze towards me, speaking in a bone chilling voice.

"We've been looking for you a long time, Lucy Heartfilia."

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><p><strong>So, how was it? I have little to no knowledge on anything medical, so I just guessed around with Wendy's comments (assuming that she's an expert). I tried to stay general, but tell me if I got anything terribly wrong.<strong>

**I absolutely adore getting reviews, so I hope you'll leave one in that little box down below. Thanks! Be sure to check out locoanime's _The Pheonix_, and I'll be back soon.**


	4. Chapter III

**Wow! The last chapter got a lot more reception than the others. It's definitely prompted me to post this a bit faster. Unfortunately, certain school projects that I had previously procrastinated on had to be completed... Plus writer's block.**

**As much as I love getting review just talking about how much you liked the story (it really makes me want to write more), if you say something specific, you're more likely to get a response. And guests, if you could give me something to call you, it'll make this next bit a lot easier.**

**Responses to Guest Reviews:**

**Guest I: Thanks! Not exactly sure why hers is labeled as tragedy, actually. The two stories are very close (plot-wise), and I make very few changes to the actual events of the story.**

**Guest II: I'm not really sure, actually. It wasn't actually in the first draft, but locoanime wasn't really satisfied with what I had put before, so I tried to add something a bit more specific. I'll probably take that bit out. And yes, this story is arranged in manner that's a bit confusing, which I'm really sorry about, but I'm not sure how to change it. If you like, I could put a 2 or 3 sentence summary at the end of every chapter.**

**If you guys approve, the _next_ chapter might be in Natsu's point of view.**

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><p><em>Cobra cackled almost gleefully, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. He cocked his head to the side, calling, "He didn't know her name." he paused briefly, waiting for someone to contradict him.<em>

_When no one did, he directed his lopsided gaze towards me, speaking in a bone chilling voice._

_"We've been looking for you a long time, Lucy Heartfilia."_

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><p>I stumbled back against the cave wall, eyes wide.<p>

"H-How do you know my surname?" I stuttered, "I never told any of you that!"

The muscled blonde man (whose name I couldn't remember) smacked the back of Cobra's head again. "What the hell? You're freaking her out!" he berated the other man, though he himself was eyeing me curiously.

Rogue whispered something in Sting's ear, and this time, I couldn't catch what he'd said.

I looked at Wendy for an explanation. She was nervously fiddling with the hem of her dress, not meeting my eyes.

"Remember?" she said cautiously, "He can hear thoughts."

There it was again, that queer phrasing. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. Even so, my shock was soon replaced with something strikingly close to anger.

"Oh! Well then!" I snapped, letting my arms fall and bounce against my sides. "Isn't that just perfect. He knows everything I'm thinking. What does that mean, anyway? 'Hearing' thoughts? And why are you all gaping at me like that? Is it because of my name? What are all of you, where am I, and what the hell is going on? I always feel like this and I hate it!" At one point or another, I had started screaming.

My chest rose and fell rapidly, and I glanced back at the girl beside me, who was cringing. I allowed my voice to fall to a defeated sigh, embarrassed that I'd exploded like that. I murmured, "Tell me. Please."

The black haired man from earlier, whom Wendy had called Gajeel, started to say something, but I held up a hand to stop him. "I want Wendy to explain."

When Gajeel looked like he was about to protest, the little girl shook her head. "It's fine. I'll explain." she took a deep breath. "Um... Cobra literally _hears _thoughts. Like, with his ears. As for our species... It's called Sarkana. You're a bit northeast of Hargeon, I think. No, wait, northwest." she laughed nervously. "Your name. Um, that's a really long story."

"Have we got time?" I asked to anyone who would answer.

"Until Natsu gets back, probably." Sting said, crossing his arms over his chest.

I quietly sat down on the dirt ground against the rough, hard rock wall, careful to wrap my skirt around my thighs as I curled my knees up to my chest. I then laced my arms around my legs, hugging them close. "I'm listening."

Wendy began to talk again, her voice taking on a quality one would use to read aloud a fairy tale. "The Sarkana are nearly extinct. In fact, we may be the only ones. I really don't know. But just over two centuries ago, they began to be... well, slaughtered, really. Impeturi absolutely trashed the land. It was terrible. And then, fifty years after that, they broke into the castle, and murdered the Dragon King."

"Wait," I interrupted, my confusion suddenly increasing, "Dragon king? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Can't you save your damn questions till the end? You're the one who wanted a full-on explanation." Gajeel said gruffly, before reluctantly saying, "Dragons are over sarkana. Sorta like protectors, and sorta like our government. We get our magic abilities from them. It's complicated."

"Oh."

Wendy softly continued her story, her voice filling with sadness, "So, the Dragon King, Igneel, was the dragon who raised Natsu. During an enormous attack, he was killed. Along with many of the dragons. Thousands of impeturi attacked, and they killed most of them. King Igneel's last words to Natsu, well, to anyone, were..." she bit her lip, and tried to remember, "I wasn't actually there; I was being evacuated. But he said to find and protect Lucy Heartfilia. He made it said it was imperative that we found her and kept her safe.

"Natsu was there, and saw Igneel die. He didn't know who this 'Lucy' was, and it infuriated him. Not only that his father had died, but his last wish had been so vague. I think he was a little jealous, even, that this mystery girl stole what could have been 'I love you' or something like that. And he couldn't even fulfill King Igneel's wish. He used to go on rampages about it every now and again. And then he started to look for you. Everywhere.

"Just recently, he was spying on a band of impeturi, and overheard that they were going to meet up with the rest of their unit and kill 'the Heartfilia girl'. So, Natsu went to find you. And thank goodness he did." Wendy ended. She took a deep breath and relaxed slightly.

I thanked her quietly, and Wendy smiled weakly. She seemed glad that I had excepted her explanation. "Any questions?"

I thought about it for a moment, before nodding slightly. "Can you explain the thing with the dragons?"

"Not really. I was really young at the time." she admitted, grimacing slightly, "I'm not really sure how it worked. Um, can somebody..."

Gajeel, once again, spoke for Wendy. "Like I said, it's complicated. Part of our culture; the kids who are the most talented in magic are sent to live with the dragons. They choose a kid to mentor, and usually become kinda like a parent to them. The kids take on dragonish attributes, and become the sarkana."

I tried to wrap my mind around that. "So, you guys aren't born as sarkana?"

Gajeel looked as if he was about to start yelling at me, but Wendy, got my attention again. "Right. Anything else?"

I bit my lip, going over the girl's entire explanation in my head. "You kept saying a word... Can't remember what it was... Are those the monsters who attacked my kingdom?"

Wendy shrugged her small shoulders, and said, "Impeturus? Yeah, it was probably them. It's a type of demon."

"How long is your, um, lifespan?" I asked nervously. I didn't want to pry, but I'd realized with a start that the girl in front of me had to be at least a hundred years old.

She thought about it for a moment, before cheerfully responding, "About the same as yours. Actually, Grandine once said that the sarkana were modeled after elves, with some added dragonish attributes. I'm older than I look; I'm 169* years old."

My eyes widened slightly. I'd expected her to be a younger: she looked as if she was only 140.*

"One more thing." I said, drawing a hesitant breath. I thought about the last order made by the Dragon King, and shivered. I drew my knees closer to my chest and wrapped my arms even tighter around them. "Why me? What's so special about me?"

Wendy's face visibly fell, and I could practically see her anxiously chewing the inside of her delicate cheek.

"He never... Well, we don't... We're not sure." Wendy spluttered, snapping her eyes away from mind in favor of the floor.

I slowly looked around at each of the other occupants of the room, noiselessly asking for an explanation. My gaze was filled with a fierce intensity, but each pair of eyes it met only stared back solemnly with confidence, or even arrogance.

"By the way," Cobra snickered, breaking the silence I'd created, "I'm not the one telling Natsu about _her_." He pointed at me, but didn't bother looking in my direction.

"What are you insinuating?" Rogue asked quietly, his eyebrow quirking up.

"You know how he freaks out." The larger man said casually, "It's gonna be hilarious to see him blow up at one of you. Besides, this is your problem." I watched him trace his way to one of the jagged walls of the cavern and lean against it. He crossed his arms and legs, before calling almost cheerfully, "He should be back any second now."

Sting had the biggest reaction. He stumbled back slightly, eyes wide, and I could almost hear his sharp intake of breath. The others simply looked to the opening, and true to Cobra's prediction, a new figure was descending into the cave.

It almost frightened me, how the tan-skinned _sarkana_ could sense a person coming. I reasoned that he was probably hearing their thoughts getting louder, a prospect that only reminded me that he knew what I was thinking about.

Instantly trying to banish the subject from my head, I turned my attention to the newcomer. Natsu, as I assumed him to be, was dressed in a long, black cloak, which was ragged and torn at the bottom. The dark hood covered his eyes, until he lifted his hand and pushed the edge of it back to his hairline, showing a little bit of the dark red locks. He had bloodless white skin, and I could see that his arm was splattered with patches of dark scales. I forced myself to look at his face, and my eyes were met with the same blazing ruby eyes from before.

My breath hitched, and I couldn't help myself from being terrified by those eyes.

Natsu didn't look at me. Instead, he shifted his gaze to each person in the room.

"You guys have any idea what 'lay low' means? I can hear you guys from a freaking mile away! Oh, and Sting, Rogue, you were spotted." he criticized lightly, before laughing. "At this rate, we'll have to change locations again in a year."

He was undeniably the man from before. The same humorous voice that made me feel so welcome; the same demonic eyes that sent warning bells ringing throughout my head.

"So," I whispered quietly, melancholy smile barely touching my lips, "You're Natsu."

I'd spoken more to myself than anyone else, but the man turned at the mention of his name. I decided that he had a more boyish face than anything, which gave an effect of innocence, calming me slightly. With this, I suddenly realized that the shape of his features - the shape of his jaw, the slight curve of his nose - all of it looked more than a bit attractive.

Even so, when his eyes finally met mine, I clutched my knees even tighter to my chest. I didn't even feel like I had the courage to look away.

He grinned, but I couldn't find it in me to return the gesture.

"You look better." he said cheerfully.

I gave a short nod in response, my chocolate colored eyes never leaving his. I sat, completely frozen, until somebody noticed my discomfort.

I heard a short, feminine gasp come from Wendy, who quickly stuttered, "N-Natsu, take off the disguise!"

He frowned slightly, asking, "Why?"

"Just take off the illusion." she responded, slightly desperate, "It's scaring her."

My cheeks flushed slightly from embarrassment. Yes, he was frightening me, and I couldn't do much more than cringe against the wall. That didn't mean she needed to tell him that.

I thought that he might be mad at me. Instead, he just blinked a few times. "Oh. Right."

Like a mirage, his image shimmered. When I looked at him, his figure looked blurred and smudged. When I could see him again, he'd, well, he'd changed. His skin had lost its chalky whiteness, shifting to a slightly tan tone. The clumps of black scales disappeared from his arms and neck. His previously blood-red hair, which I realized was wild and spiky, lightened to pink. Most noticeably, his luminous ruby eyes were replaced with slate colored orbs.

"Better?" He asked. I stayed quiet, nodding my head. "Sorry 'bout that. I use an illusion lacrima so I can sneak into camps of impeturi."

He was quiet for a moment, before suddenly asking, "What's your name again?"

I chewed the inside of my cheek. If what Wendy had said was true, he'd been looking for me for a long time. I wasn't sure how to tell him, or even if he'd believe me.

"Natsu," Wendy brought his attention back to her, "I told her. Everything I know."

The man's eyes widened. He turned to the younger girl, looking like he was about to yell at her. He almost did, his voice rising close to a shout. "What? Why the hell would you do that?"

The blue haired girl cringed slightly, then straightened, saying, "Because she's Lucy Heartfilia. That's why."

"Well, that's not - Wait, _What_?" He gaped openly at Wendy, glanced at me, looked back at Wendy, then fixed his eyes on my face. He looked startled, to say the very least. I saw an array of emotions painted on his face: shock, doubt, anger, relief... remorse? They flitted across his features, one after the other, changing and blending in no particular order.

Under his stare, I was suddenly self conscious. The dress that Wendy had provided felt too short, and I became aware that water had dripped from my hair and soaked into the fabric.

"You're Lucy?" Natsu asked incredulously.

I nodded.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Because..." I racked my brain for a reason that he _should _believe me. Drawing a blank, I simply said, "Because I'm not lying."

He kept staring at me, with just a trace of hostility, and slowly nodded his head once. He silently turned around, and started walking back to the cave's exit. I saw him wrap his fingers around a small object, only for his appearance to flicker. Heading up the cavern's sloping entrance, he once again had the features of an impeturus. I heard a muffled jingling sound as he walked.

Without turning back to look at us, he spoke in an oddly serious voice, "I'm gonna do a final perimeter check. Wendy, keep the girl safe." And he left.

I suddenly realized that most of the occupants of the room had left at one point or another. I spun around, looking for them, just in time to catch Sting leaving, going deeper into the cave. Rogue gave me one last curious glance, before following.

More to herself than anyone else, Wendy whispered, "Oh no... What's he planning?"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked uncertainly.

She immediately brightened up, a little too much. "Probably nothing. He'll be back in a bit."

I frowned. "I feel like I'm missing something."

"Well, what is it?" Wendy asked innocently, placing a finger on her lip in thought.

I bit my lip hard, mentally going through everything I usually kept with me. It was a little hard to remember what I was missing, since I was wearing Wendy's clothes instead of my own. My shoes (Wendy's shoes), dress, tied stays (I realized with a start that the dress I was wearing didn't have a corset), a book (I usually kept one on me), my keys...

"My keys. They're gone." I muttered, placing a hand where they usually hung at my hip, remembering that I hadn't seen them since waking up in the cave.

"Hey, where are you going?" Wendy called, seeing me walking briskly towards the mouth of the cavern.

"First of all," I said, looking over my shoulder at the younger girl, "my kingdom was attacked. I'm not just gonna sit around and let that go on. My brother went out to fight; I need to know if he's okay. And lastly, Natsu seems to have taken my keys."

I faintly hear he call, "What keys?", but I was already clambering up the steep passageway to the woods outside.

I felt slightly guilty, since the girl had been told to keep me safe. It wasn't enough to stop me. I needed those keys.

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><p><strong>Wow, that took me a long time. Sorry guys! But, what did you think? Like? Hate? Leave me a review, pretty please?<strong>

**Sorry if this chapter was a bit confusing. I had no idea what to write most of the time, and it got to a point where I could only write one sentence at a time. ****Oh, and one other thing. I am planning on writing a new story, but I'm not sure which point of view to have it in. There's a poll on my page, and I'd be really happy if you could go check it out!**

**Until next time!**

***I devised an aging system, which is really quite simple. I took the age of their debut appearance, added 3 (I wanted the characters to be a bit older, so Lucy would be 20), then multiplied that number by 11.2. After about 300 years, they just stop growing and are immortal. So, when Wendy said she was 169, she's around the equivalent of 15 years old, although Lucy said that she looks 12 or 13.**


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